Today the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Demographic and Health Surveys Program released Women's Lives and Challenges: Equality and Empowerment since 2000, a report that assesses gains in women’s status and gender equality worldwide.

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and US-ASEAN Business Council signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) today to create the US-ASEAN Business Alliance for Competitive Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs). The MOU was signed by USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah, Council President Alexander Feldman, and Procter & Gamble Vice President Carolyn Brehm as the representative of the Council’s ASEAN committee.

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Rajiv Shah will give opening remarks and sign an MOU with the US-ASEAN Business Council to launch of the US-ASEAN Business Alliance for Competitive Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs).

Today, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), in partnership with World Vision and the Australian government, launched the second round of All Children Reading: A Grand Challenge for Development (ACR GCD). This international grant competition will make available a total of $2.7 million for innovations and programs that leverage the transformative power of technology to leapfrog existing infrastructure challenges and empower children to read.

Today, USAID Administrator Dr. Rajiv Shah completed a two-day visit to Kathmandu, during which he announced approximately $100 million in support of the people of Nepal subject to the availability of funding. Dr. Shah met with Prime Minister Sushil Koirala and other key political leaders and spoke at the closing session of the Nepal Economic Summit, where he stressed the private sector’s role in accelerating Nepal’s economic growth. Dr. Shah also visited sites that highlight USAID’s commitment to using innovation, science, technology, and partnerships—with the Nepali government, civil society, and the private sector—to deepen development impact.

On February 24, The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Office of Conflict Management and Mitigation (CMM), in partnership with the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, will host an expert panel discussion on water, conflict, and peacebuilding to mark the release of USAID’s Water & Conflict Toolkit.

Global Forest Watch unites more than 40 government, business and civil society partners to curb forest destruction by putting free and transparent information in the hands of people who care most about forests.

The United States Agency for International Development’s Office of American Schools and Hospitals Abroad (ASHA) intends to award 40 grants to U.S. organizations during the second quarter of fiscal year 2014, totaling just over $20 million. Individual grants range from approximately $120,000 to $1,800,000 and support organizations that embody ASHA’s legislative mandate to promote civil society, foster exchange, mutual understanding and cultivate deeper relationships with the United States.

This week, U.S. Agency for International Development Assistant Administrator Eric Postel will represent USAID at the London Conference on Illegal Wildlife Trade, which brings together more than 35 heads of state, foreign ministers, and other high-level government officials to bring global attention to the crisis of wildlife trafficking and discuss solutions for combating this pernicious illegal trade.

Yesterday, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) awarded the Support Which Implements Fast Transitions IV (SWIFT) indefinite quantity contract. SWIFT is a five-year agreement with a potential of up to $2.5 billion. The contract will help advance peace and democracy in countries that are in transition. This is the fourth iteration of the SWIFT contract.

Jason Fraser was sworn in today as the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) mission director to Angola. Fraser assumes leadership over a portfolio of programs that support democracy and governance, the electoral process, economic growth, and the President's Malaria Initiative.

Today, at the high-level launch of the United Nations’ Sahel Humanitarian Response Plan in Rome, Italy, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Assistant Administrator for Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance Nancy Lindborg announced USAID’s RISE (Resilience in the Sahel-Enhanced) Initiative.

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and GE, in conjunction with Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB), today announced a new partnership that will make up to $10 million in local financing available to small and medium enterprises for the development of private health facilities, including small clinics, diagnostic centers, and hospitals in Kenya.

On Monday, January 27th, USAID will launch its new framework for integrated environment and development programs, entitled "Nature, Wealth, and Power 2.0: Leveraging Natural and Social Capital for Resilient Development".

Efforts will include increasing access to technology, crop biofortification and capacity building

On the margins of the World Economic Forum at Davos, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and DuPont formally announced a joint agreement to deepen efforts to reduce global hunger and poverty by enabling smallholder farmers access to proven, safe, and transformative agricultural innovations.

On the heels of a two-day visit to the Central African Republic (CAR), U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Assistant Administrator for Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance Nancy Lindborg announced today in Brussels that the United States is providing nearly $30 million in additional U.S. humanitarian assistance to address urgent needs resulting from the crisis in CAR, for a total commitment of nearly $45 million in humanitarian assistance since increased hositilities in December.

Since its independence, South Sudan has made modest but important steps on the path to development. But today, fighting between government and rebel forces puts that progress at risk, wreaking havoc on a people who have faced more than their share of suffering and denial. Recent violence in South Sudan has left thousands dead and has driven nearly half a million people from their homes.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA), and the African Cotton & Textile Industries Federation (ACTIF) have entered into a memorandum of understanding to expand trade and investment linkages between the United States and sub-Saharan Africa in the cotton textile and apparel sectors.

Today, Donald “Larry” Sampler Jr., was sworn in as Assistant to the Administrator in the Office of Afghanistan and Pakistan Affairs. In this role, Sampler will oversee the two countries with the largest USAID budgets in a region critical to U.S. national security. USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah administered the oath.

The number of women dying during pregnancy and childbirth declined sharply over one year in eight pilot districts in Uganda and Zambia where Saving Mothers, Giving Life has deployed a battery of life-saving interventions, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-led public-private partnership announced today. The first annual report, a comprehensive evaluation of the initiative’s efforts to strengthen health systems and reduce the number of preventable maternal deaths, revealed a 30 percent decrease in the maternal mortality ratio in target districts of Uganda and a 35 percent reduction in target facilities in Zambia in its first year.